Desert Roaming: The Joshua Tree Spotify Mix

It’s a parched, dusty, and beautiful land. It’s where cacti rule and jack rabbits roam. Black crows a sharp contrast against the blue sky. The sun rises early here and beats down on the earth below, casting harsh shadows off of the tall boulders. An army of Joshua trees stand tall everywhere you look. It is a place of solitude — the land so bare and isolated that you can’t help but be reflective and meditative. This is the California desert.

I recently spent the weekend in Twentynine Palms, a city in the Mojave Desert region of Southern California that sits right outside of Joshua Tree National Park. The town possesses a certain “rock and roll” energy. A laid back attitude lingers in the air. Musical greats such as Keith Richards and Gram Parsons would escape to Joshua Tree in the 1960’s and you can almost still feel their presence. The desert calls for music, whether it’s playing the guitar as the hot sun goes down or listening to Dire Straights in a pickup truck as it barrels down the two-lane highway. Below is a playlist that reminds me of times spent in Joshua Tree: a little bit rock and roll with a touch of twang.